Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication apparatus, a method for controlling the communication apparatus, and a storage medium.
Description of the Related Art
There has been a power saving (PS) mode defined in Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 series. When a communication apparatus in the PS mode resides in a network established by a base station, the base station does not immediately transmit data even if the base station receives broadcast or multicast data. The base station transmits a beacon including a special information element called a Delivery Traffic Indication Message (DTIM) according to a transmission interval defined in the base station, and then transmits broadcast or multicast data. The base station notifies the communication apparatus in the PS mode of the presence of data using an information element called a Traffic Indication Map (TIM) included in the beacon, and then transmits unicast data. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0072559 A1 discusses an example of a communication apparatus operable in the PS mode, wherein the interval of beacon reception is changeable according to the operation mode of a communication application running on the communication apparatus.
However, since the base station transmits a beacon according to the transmission interval defined in the base station, there may be a case where transmission of data delays according to the setting of the base station. When audio or video data requiring real-time transmission is distributed, delay in data transmission results in deterioration of the quality of audio or video. On the other hand, when a communication apparatus with which the base station communicates transmits data requesting a response, if the base station delays transmission of the data, the communication apparatus that has transmitted the data requesting a response becomes unable to receive the response within a certain period of time, and results in time-out of communication.